Homework H.7

[WYacob_2C]

H.7 part (d) says "Write a balanced chemical equation for each of the following reactions...(d) The reaction of ammonia gas with oxygen gas at high temperatures in the presence of a copper metal catalyst produces the gases water and nitrogen dioxide."

I've got the chemical equation but I need help balancing it. Any help is appreciated.

NH3 + 02 ---> H2O + NO2

[Sadhana_Dicussion_4A]

You should balance this equation similar to the way you balance a combustion reaction. Therefore, you should balance the Hydrogens first, then the Nitrogens, then the Oxygens.

[Bao Tram Nguyen]

First balance the hydrogen atoms in the reaction:
2 NH3 + O2 —> 3 H2O + NO2

Then balance the nitrogens:
2 NH3 + O2 —> 3 H2O + 2 NO2

And lastly, balance the oxygens. You never want to balance it first because you don’t want to balance an element that is alone. It will be harder to work around the other elements if you start with one that is not combined with others as much.
2 NH3 + 7/2 O2 —> 3 H2O + 2 NO2

Lastly, you want to make sure all the coefficients are whole numbers and not fractions or decimals, so multiply the entire equation.
4 NH3 + 7 O2 —> 6 H2O + 4 NO2

Make sure you check that there are the same number of atoms per element on each side of the equation.